Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai turns producer for Joyland: Pakistan’s first film to almost win an Oscar nomination

Pakistani Nobel Peace prize winner Malala Yousafzai has donned the role of execute-producing Joyland: an Oscar-nominated film that tackles the growing human rights issues pertaining to the LGBT community in Pakistan, according to a report by Pinkvilla.

The education activist and human rights advocate will be producing this movie that revolves around transgenders. According to various reports, Malala believes that the theme of the social film will resonate with people all across the globe.

Fr the unversed, Joyland is set in Lahore, Pakistan, and the story revolves around Haider Rana, who is the youngest son of a middle-class family. As the plot progresses, Haider joins a dance group without telling anyone in his family and falls in love with an unabashedly ambitious trans actress. With the blossoming of their relationship, also comes the secrets of the Rana family to the forefront.

Joyland will be produced under the banner of Yousafzai's Extracurricular Production company and is directed by Saim Sadiq.

Interestingly, Joyland was also one of the strong contenders for an Oscar nomination under the International Feature Film Category this year. The film is essentially a love story that revolves around transgender issues in Pakistan.

Malala has said in her statement that she is thankful to director Saim Sadiq for ensuring that the role of a transgender woman has been played by a trans herself in the movie. The globally renowned activist believes everyone should get the opportunity to be a part of the film.

She has also said that everyone deserves to be seen and heard, including trans genders, as they have the same rights as everyone else in society. Malala then went on to add that the sad part lies in the fact that these issues are not shown in films, and further commented that it is good to see that Joyland is breaking stereotypes and has become the first Pakistani movie to cast a transgender in the lead role.